Problem reading a dBase file

[googoo]

Hi guys,

I am trying to read a dBase file, using c++. The following snippet of code is used to check the first byte of a dBse file (whose version is unknown):

ifstream inFile("pat.dbf", ios::in|ios::binary);
unsigned char dBV = 0;
unsigned long id2 = 0;
inFile.read(&dBV,1); // byte 0

id2 = (dBV);
cout << &quot;Raw value: &quot; << (id2) << endl;

The output of running this is:

Raw Value: 48

This is somewhat conufusing ~ my notes on dBase say that version is stored in the first byte, in bits 0 - 2. However, this seems to indicate that the version is 0! Any ideas, and does version number REALLY make a difference in getting to unravel a dBase file?

Cheers, and merry christmas guys!
Andrew

 

[tviman]

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think it's necessary to know which version the DBF file is to read it like you're doing. The only thing you need to be concerned with is the field structure. There's always a better way...